to offer, holy Father?"

The old priest shifted a little before he answered.

"The mysteries of the faith are in possession of Mesu," he began at
last. "The writing saith he hath exerted great influence over the
bond-people--in truth he hath entered a peaceful land and stirred it
up--and time is but needed to bring the unrest to open warfare. Thou,
O Meneptah, and thou, O Rameses, and thou, O Har-hat, each being of the
brotherhood--ye know that we hold the faith by scant tenure in the
respect of the people. Ye know the perversity of humanity. Obedience
and piety are not in them. Though they never knew a faith save the
faith of their fathers, we must pursue them with a gad, tickle them
with processions and awe them with manifestations. So if it were to
come over the spirit of this Hebrew to betray the mysteries, to scout
the faith and overturn the gods, he would have rabble Egypt following
at his heels.

"As the writing saith, he hath the destruction of the state in mind,
and his own aggrandizement. He but beginneth on the faith because he
seeth in that a rift wherein to put the lever that shall pry the whole
state asunder. So with two and a half millions of Hebrews and a horde
of renegade Egyptians to combat, I fear the Rameside army might spill
more good blood than is worth wasting on a mongrel multitude. The
rabble without a leader is harmless. Cut off the head of the monster,
and there is neither might nor danger in the trunk. Put away Mesu, and
the insurrection will subside utterly."

The priest paused and Meneptah stroked the polished coping of the panel
before him with a nervous hand. There was complete silence for a